Keeping Our Enemies Closer: Political Dialogue in Polarized Democracies

By Rachel Wahl

An inside look into real-life conversations across ideological, racial, and institutional lines

What does it take for a progressive student and a conservative peer to view each other with respect? Can trust form between a police officer and a community member after years of tension and mistrust? At a time when political polarization seems insurmountable, Rachel Wahl offers a rare glimpse into what happens when people with opposing views sit down and talk-- not with the goal to debate or "prove" their political point but with the goal to understand the life experiences, hopes, fears, and ideas that drive their disagreements. Drawing on in-depth empirical research with college students, police officers, and community members, this groundbreaking book takes readers inside real-life conversations across ideological, racial, and institutional lines.

Wahl draws on political theory to examine two cases: structured dialogue between students and a series of forums held between officers and community members. Rather than idealizing dialogue, Keeping Our Enemies Closer reveals its complexity--where it succeeds, where it falters, and how it can reshape not just minds, but institutions. Through gripping narratives and rigorous analysis, this book challenges assumptions and offers a new framework for thinking about communication in fractured times. An essential read for educators, activists, and policymakers, Keeping Our Enemies Closer has much to offer anyone seeking to understand how connection is forged--or frayed--in twenty-first-century America.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1512829978
• ISBN13: 9781512829976
• Release Date: October 2026
• Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
• Length: 320 Pages